


Self-Interested Rally

by ilyena_sylph, Merfilly



Series: Midnight Verse [18]
Category: Transformers Generation One
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-31
Updated: 2012-10-31
Packaged: 2017-11-17 10:59:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/550821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilyena_sylph/pseuds/ilyena_sylph, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thundercracker makes a call and turns the tide with Starscream's selfish desire to stay functioning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Self-Interested Rally

This... was not going well. Thundercracker wondered why they had come to this obvious trap of a battle now, as Megatron struggled under the assault of the Dinobots. Sure, he had Soundwave's cassette army, but they seemed to be struggling, or just falling over into cassette mode, as if crippled by Soundwave's sudden stasis lock.

And that -- the fact Soundwave had been taken out of battle -- showed how damaged the Decepticon forces had become. They should not be so reliant on a slagging communications specialist, Thundercracker's processor and spark insisted.

::Skywarp, get clear of the fight; gonna need you to bounce to Screamer,:: Thundercracker sent quickly over the private bond, since all the regular bands were all cluttered with wailing Cassetticons and static from Soundwave. 

Slag it all, but Thundercracker had given his loyalty to Megatron's cause and to Starscream himself. Letting the Autobots pound the buckethead into the ground was not honorable in the least, with those two ties beating into his spark.

Skywarp heard that call, and it made sense to his clearer way of processing, because if anyone slagged Megatron, Starscream needed to be on hand to at least see it happen, not to say the least of be here to take control. Thundercracker didn't need to be forced into holding the reins long enough for their trine leader to get here, after all.

He still hated having to bounce there and know he was going to be carrying someone back; that ate his reserves like nothing else could, but they really had no choice. With that thought in his calculations, Skywarp disengaged and immediately teleported to the coordinates nearest Starscream that he could reach.

`~`~`~`~`

::'Scream, we need you at the fight! Laserbeak showed up and slagged Soundwave's whole little army! The Dinobutts are gonna kick Megatron's aft into rust,:: Skywarp practically shouted over the trine band, looking for the correct mountain. He refused to actually enter the sulfuric thermals blowing around the islands; it always tarnished his paint, or so he swore.

::WHAT?! No, they can't!:: The words of denial were shrieked back along the bond... and verbally, where he had been discussing the virus with Skyfire quite peacefully.

"Starscream?" Skyfire queried, even as he _accidentally_ got in his mate's way to the exit.

"MOVE! They're going to destroy us all! If he's fighting Grimlock, that cannon is powered up!" Starscream tried to dodge around Skyfire, but the transport put his hands out to catch Starscream.

"Star... let this end it then," Skyfire said, misinterpreting the destruction Starscream meant. "My word as Optimus Prime's envoy that we will not destroy you all; we want to negotiate but Megatron will not."

"Fool! It's not your pathetic Autobots who will wreak destruction! It's that cannon, and Megatron's connection to its power source that can destroy this entire pathetic planet and all my plans!" Starscream threw off Skyfire's grip. "AND ME!"

That... made Skyfire step aside, clearing the passageway. "Go. I will attempt to contact the Autobots."

"They won't listen. Someone will just accuse you of treachery," Starscream crooned, his optics flashing before he shot down the narrow passageway, transforming just as it widened to launch up and out. Free and in his element, Starscream had no problem executing an impossible bank and flip, bringing as much of his frame into contact with Skywarp's to make the teleportation easier, the pair flying tandem as if they had been doing it all through the war instead of only recently rediscovering their syncopation. 

"You have no faith in the goodness of any mech any longer," Skyfire told the empty chamber sadly. ::Jazz... Blaster... ANYONE!:: Skyfire sent, increasing his gain as he was met with discordant static and squeals on the usual bands. "Rust," he cursed mildly, before wiggling out of the hidden laboratory to take to the air himself. At least he could shoot for an orbital, and hope to break whatever was blocking the airwaves from that height.

`~`~`~`~`

Soundwave had been taken by the antivirus, as Laserbeak had thought it would be a quick upload, he would simply sneak it past the defenses while his carrier was preoccupied with battle. Afterwards, it could be thoroughly integrated.

The Cassetticon had truly not realized that a mech who lived vicariously through others, but controlled every iota of his own processor would be at a complete loss to discover that his recent existence was predominantly a lie. The antivirus stripped away the nanites, and his own system ruthlessly beat at the source, shoving it further back than even Starscream had managed, his processor attacking at the first revelation that he, Soundwave, had manipulated by someone else.

Manipulation was _his_ forte!

The chaos storm had already been unleashed. Every recent decision had to be reevaluated, and his links to the small army of symbionts faltered as Soundwave turned inward. The unfortunate backlash of this, though, was that the various normal frequencies for communication were filled with the unholy racket of his defragmentation and their constant pings back to him, seeking the very lifelines of their existence.

By the time Soundwave could break free of his obsessive search through his system, the Decepticon defeat was near at hand. Those Cassetticons who had fallen into their alt forms had been ignored, but the ones who still managed a half-sparked fight had been injured and taken out of the equation by the Autobots, though not a single one had been deactivated.

That had been Blaster's doing, the moment he realized the absolute distress they were in. His own Cassettibots had rushed out, gathering up their 'cousins' to pull them out of harm's way. The last one captured -- and it had taken Steeljaw to do it -- had been Frenzy, whose power had actually delayed the Dinobots more significantly than any other symbiont had managed.

Grimlock had now closed with Megatron, and Slag was close by, trying to assist. On the rise, Soundwave took in a fresh force of Autobots, including the tell-tale semi rushing in at the head of their column.

::Tactical withdrawal, commence!:: Soundwave sent to all Decepticons, even Megatron, as he made sense of the data Laserbeak had delivered in addition to the antivirus algorithms. He would retrieve his symbionts in due time; they would not be prisoners long, but now... now he had to bring the army away, with or without the gladiator leader if he could have any revenge on whichever mech had done this to him and his wards.

Megatron roared in fury and hate at the message from Soundwave, optics flashing white as he struck again at the thickwitted Dinobot hammering at his frame, absorbed in the raging battle -- 

\-- but Soundwave, of all mechs, would not speak those words without good reason, some faint fragment of logic murmured from deep within his processor, clear and concise. What did Soundwave perceive that was reason to retreat? He brought the cannon to bear on one of those thin forearms, blasting away the gripping claws, buying himself a few moments to observe the field. 

Another wave of Autobots incoming. Multiple fallen Cassetticons. Few Seekers still above.

He took a step backwards, analyzing his escape route -- only to feel Slag's horns driving into his knee joints. 

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" shrieked across the battlefield just behind a very low 'pop' of mass displacement, and Seeker fire rained down on Grimlock and Slag. Purple accented black streaked past on one side, while the unmistakable voice left no doubts who was actually risking his frame to engage far too close to the ground.

::Starscream, effective diversion. Withdrawal imminent.:: Soundwave prodded immediately, rather than let Megatron's irrationality keep him on the field under a mistaken belief of either superior firepower or a need to show up his troublesome second.

//What in the names of the Pits?!// Megatron thought as Slag's horns were driven out of his knees by Starscream's -- surprisingly effective -- fire. Soundwave's words rankled, but the rising dust from the Autobots rolling closer and the number of fallen Decepticons proved it to be the correct decision. 

"Decepticons, retreat!" he roared, amplifying his voice to its highest volume as he took to the air. Those horns had damaged one thruster, he knew as soon as he ignited them, but the other still worked. The Seekers' laser fire hammered the Dinobots, keeping them back, and he ignited his cannon again, knocking Sludge over onto one rounded side. 

Internal sensors warned him that he was perilously low on fuel, and he snarled again, making more distance back towards the Nemesis. The sound of Seeker fire faded, before he had Soundwave escorting him on one side and the trine coming in to points of honor around him. Scattered Autobot fire accompanied their retreat, especially as the few Seekers remaining saw a chance to get in good with the mech that organized the duty rosters by swooping down and taking Cassetticons from those Autobots that had tried to take them away.

::Megatron: less than optimal. Suggestion: command transport.::

Megatron was aware that Soundwave could feel the flare of his fury at the insinuation that he could not return to the Ark under his own power -- however, it was a stupid squandering of his own resources to continue to waste the energon he should not lose from his damaged thruster. 

::Starscream,:: he sent across a relatively private band, the send heavily laden with his fury about the cycles' events (and, despite himself, some faint pleasure in the damage he had seen the Dinobots take from Starscream's fire), ::return me to the Nemesis.:: 

He waited barely a moment before he began his transformation to his more economical form. Starscream, not even missing a beat, angled his flight to allow him to open the canopy, catching the weapon with grace and skill before sealing the canopy again. 

::Those insolent fools will learn they are not allowed to bait our army in such a fashion, Megatron,:: Starscream crooned. He could play the insipid follower for now, to blind Megatron to his true ploys. Of course, he needed to actually undo all the damage done so far, in order to prove he was best with no doubts on Megatron's capabilities.

::Shut _up_ , Starscream!:: Megatron snapped, even as the words settled some of the fury broiling in his spark. Starscream and Skywarp had caused quite some damage in their attack, after all. It was a start. 

Starscream made a disagreeable noise but no more words, as the Decepticons retreated... for now.


End file.
